BEIRUT: Hezbollah is exposing Lebanon to internal tensions and Israeli aggression by continuing its military campaign in Syria, President Michel Sleiman said in comments published Thursday, in the second such warning by the head of state over the resistance group’s growing involvement in the conflict next door. “If they participate in the Allepo [north Syria] battle and more are killed in the ranks of the party, then this will lead to further tension. Qusair needs to be end of it and [Hezbollah] needs to return home,” Sleiman told As-Safir newspaper.

Hezbollah has openly admitted to fighting alongside forces loyal to President Bashar Assad in a bid to quash what it regards as a U.S.-Israeli project targeting Damascus and the resistance group. Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Wednesday Hezbollah was fighting with “honor” in Syria. [Link]